News, insights & analysis

A three-month investigation by students from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications sheds new light on $3.2 billion U.S. mine clearance and victim assistance effort.

Hostages’ families call for better communication from government

The U.S. government should provide more intelligence information to families of hostages taken by terrorists and other enemies, and news organizations should be mindful of the dangers to freelancers in conflict zones, experts and two mothers of captured journalists said at an event Wednesday at the Newseum.

Obama, Merkel continue to pursue diplomatic solution in Ukraine

At a joint news conference Monday, both leaders said Russia has violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has seen an increase in violence in recent weeks. The U.S and Germany are working together to pursue a diplomatic solution, they said.

new Student article on army times

military times publishes Medill student report

Medill student Astrid Goh’s story, “Panel: Imams key to stopping domestic terrorists,” examines the need for European governments in the wake of the Paris attacks to enlist the help of Muslim religious leaders to counter Islamist radicalization.

Website gives voice to members of American military

Announcements

Medill is now accepting entries for the James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism

The award is given to the individual or team of journalists, working for a U.S.-based media outlet, who best displayed moral, ethical or physical courage in the pursuit of a story or series of stories. The contest is open to journalists from newspapers, television stations, online news operations, magazines or radio stations. The story subjects may be local, national or international in scope.

Sign up for the National Security Zone email newsletter

The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative is a leading resource for covering national security issues and funded by the McCormick Foundation. Our biweekly email newsletter is a great way for journalists-in-training and working journalists to stay up to date with program events, journalism tips and student work.

Josh Meyer speaks about the us food aid program at northwestern’s buffett center

In a special program at Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute on Thursday, Feb. 12, Josh Meyer, Medill’s McCormick Lecturer in National Security Studies, discussed how intractable problems in the U.S. Food Aid Program perpetuate global food insecurity and instability.

Hands-on training session offered to teach journalists how to encrypt and protect their emails

The Military Reporters and Editors association and the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative are co-sponsoring a one-day seminar, “Cyber Security Skill Workshop for Journalists: Sending Secure Email,” to be held April 3, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Northwestern University newsroom in Washington, D.C.

The one-day workshop will teach journalists how to equip themselves with the skills needed to protect their sensitive digital reporting information.

“Whistleblowers, Leaks, and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security”

The new book, edited by Medill’s Ellen Shearer, Paul Rosenzweig and Timothy McNulty delves into the various areas of law surrounding the recent and well-known cases of NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Private First Class Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, among others.

Delphine Halgand on the challenges for growing number of freelance journalists (Webinar)

Delphine Halgand, U.S. director of Reporters Without Borders, explains how freelance reporting is growing around the world and the need those reporters have for a support system as well as information. The organization and its offices provide help for journalists by advising them on available insurance plans, by showing them how to protect their computers as well as their sources from intrusive government snooping. For those covering conflicts, RWB even loans out helmets and flak jackets. The need is greater than ever, according to Halgand, as more governments and groups show hostility toward journalists trying to expose harsh conditions and wrongdoing.

How-to: Covering nuclear weapons operations

Penetrating the world of nuclear weapons is not as hard for a determined journalist as you might think – or as the government might like you to think. It is secretive but not inscrutable.

If you are committed and well-prepared, you can find news in this field and illuminate an aspect of U.S. national security that can seem like an abstraction, even an anachronism, but is still relevant to the lives of all Americans.

The key is knowing where to look, how to decipher the military lingo and why it matters what is taking place within the insular world of nuclear forces. You don’t need to be a military expert or a rocket scientist.

Student Spotlight

A quiet genocide: U.S. Yezidis – and a supporter – share their stories

On Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, a group of United States-based Yezidis – a religious minority currently facing persecution at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISIS) – held a grassroots protest across the street from the United Nations headquarters in New York. Medill NSJI reporter Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and production assistant Julian Taub spoke with Yezidis, aiming to collect their stories of persecution, frustration and hope. They were joined by one U.S. Army Special Operations veteran who first encountered the Yezidi people during his deployment to Iraq.

McCormick Foundation renews grant for Medill National Security Journalism program

EVANSTON, Ill. — The Robert R. McCormick Foundation has renewed a $1 million grant to fund the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative at Northwestern University over the next two years.

The NSJ program provides journalists-in-training and working journalists with the knowledge and skills necessary to report accurately, completely and with context on events and issues related to defense, security and civil liberties. The initiative began in January, 2009 with an initial three-year, $1.3 million McCormick Foundation grant. The grant was also renewed for $1 million over two years in 2011.